The 3000 Pound Insanity

Posted by Brad King on November 27, 2017

In a world of congested cities and melting polar caps, how can we move around a city with a smile on the face and feel good about our contribution to this world?
We all do a lot of 0-3 miles trips in our cars throughout the week….trips to the store, the gym, meeting friends. For every trip we get into a 3000lb vehicle to move our 180lb selves from one point to another. The majority of the energy is used to move the vehicle, not moving ourselves. This is not just wasteful, but oblivious insanity. Every pound that gets moved increases the amount of energy consumed to go from here to there. And energy equals Greenhouse gases….as more energy we consume, as more CO2 gets put into this world.
The key to reducing CO2 is to reduce weight. One way to do this is to go on a diet, you can say no to the Frappuccinos, subscribe to Jenny Craig and shave a few pounds off your body weight. A better way, much more effective and less painful, is to put the vehicle on a serious diet. And I’m not just talking about a few pounds, but shedding weight in the four digit numbers. Replace your car with an URB-E electric vehicle for the short trips and save 2970 pounds of vehicle weight. Your CO2 emissions go down accordingly. Per mile driven your energy use on an URB-E is only 1.2% of the energy used to go the same distance in a car. At the end of this article are the detailed calculations that
This by the way is true for UBER and LYFT rides too. Even more so since UBER cars often drive just as many miles empty as they do actually transporting passengers. A recent study3 in New York found that 49% of all Rideshare miles driven are actually “empty miles”, adding significantly to traffic congestion and CO2 emissions.
Most importantly the URB-E is not just a stand-alone solution. Due to it’s small size and foldability it’s a good companion to other modes of transport. It offers freedom and sustainability for the short trips and integrates nicely with public transport, rideshare or personal cars for the longer haul.
Aside from using very little energy to operate, a sustainable vehicle has to be produced with eco-friendly material and methods too.
The URB-E is mostly made out of aircraft grade aluminium, a repeatedly recyclable material. Aluminium is one of the most sustainable metals since it doesn’t degrade during remelting and only requires 5% of the energy that it takes to produce it the first time around.
The aluminium in the URB-E is produced in the US and machined locally, avoiding CO2 intensive transportation around the world.
For the geeks in us, below are the calculations that detail the difference in energy consumption and CO2 emissions between URB-E, gasoline cars and electric cars.

Energy comparison between a conventional car and URB-E Sport

Average fuel efficiency of the existing passenger cars fleet in the US is 22mpg1. Each gallon of gas contains 33,700 Wh of energy. So each mile driven in a car takes 1,532 Wh of energy.
In an URB-E Sport the 297 Wh battery lasts for 16 miles, which translates into 18.6 Wh for each mile.
As a result travelling a mile on the URB-E uses only 1.2% of the energy that the average car uses.

Energy comparison between a Tesla Model S and URB-E Sport

Average energy efficiency of the Model S is 101MPGe2. That equates to 334 Wh per mile driven.
In an URB-E Sport the 297 Wh battery lasts for 16 miles, which translates into 18.6 Wh for each mile.
As a result travelling a mile on the URB-E uses only 5.6% of the energy that the Tesla Model S uses.
Sources: 1. US Bureau of Transportation Statistics https://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_04_23.html
2. https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymake/Tesla2017.shtml
3. http://www.schallerconsult.com/rideservices/unsustainable.pdf